NORTH POLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--It’s not officially the holiday season until you’ve placed the faces of yourself and your family, friends and coworkers onto the bodies of dancing elves. And thanks to a first-of-its-kind partnership with some of the North Pole’s top elfin influencers, Office Depot’s (NASDAQ:ODP) Elf Yourself® is back for 2018.
“When Office Depot approached us this year, the elves were really all ears,” said Santa Claus. “After finding out that Elf Yourself was using Facebook’s augmented reality filters, it was a wrap. The elves were excited to see their dancing bodies appear in everyone’s Facebook feeds. Learning the hottest new dances like ‘the floss’ and ‘orange justice’ raised their elf esteem and the overall morale here, too.”
“One of the greatest outcomes of Elf Yourself has been seeing the joy and laughter a simple video or picture can bring to friends and families during the holiday season,” said Natalie Malaszenko, senior vice president, digital business and head elf master. “This year we’ve made it even easier for people to elf themselves anytime, anywhere – all while shopping with their families, at the office holiday party, or while playing with their kids. There’s now more opportunity to create some truly unique holiday greetings.”
In addition to the mobile app and website, for the first time, Elf Yourself is expanding the experience to Facebook, using the social network’s Augmented Reality (AR) camera effects. Now, you can Elf Yourself and your friends with real-time interactive features and new dance moves.
The new Elf Yourself Facebook AR filter can be accessed by opening the Facebook app and going to the Office Depot page. By using the phone’s front and rear facing cameras, users can elf themselves or their friends all without leaving Facebook or needing to take and upload a photo. To celebrate the launch of the effect on Facebook, Office Depot is also sharing the experience through Facebook’s new AR ads solution. Those who engage with the effect through the ad will be given a coupon offer for 25 percent off one regularly priced item1. Other new features include:
- Two new dances – ‘the floss’ and ‘orange justice’ – choose from the trendiest dance moves of 2018.
- Virtual snowballs – Use the rear camera to tap and throw digital snowballs at your friends that turn them into elves.
- Record and share – Is there any better way to say Happy Holidays than by sharing a video of yourself doing ‘the floss’ while dressed as an elf?
“Over the past 13 years, Elf Yourself has become a beloved part of people’s holiday experiences,” said Eva Press, North America sales group lead at Facebook. “We can’t wait for people to delight in the experience on Facebook, and more easily share the joy of ‘Elfing Yourself’ with the people they care about. Office Depot is among our first brand partners to test its camera effect as an AR ad; we’re thrilled to be part of the brand’s continued transformation.”
And for consumers in search of the perfect holiday greeting card, Elf Yourself mobile app and website users can turn their dance creation into the perfect personalized holiday card to be printed, picked up or shipped from any Office Depot or OfficeMax print center.
Since the inception of Elf Yourself® in 2006, 1.7 billion elves have been created from more than 500 million sessions globally. In addition to the new Facebook filters this year, the Elf Yourself app is also available to download at elfyourself.com or through your mobile app store.
- Preview the new Elf Yourself dances: https://youtu.be/xaj6AbMYB6w
- Preview the new Facebook filter: https://youtu.be/DGdWHoYD8EI
About Office Depot, Inc.
Office Depot, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODP) is a leading provider of business services and supplies, products and technology solutions through its fully integrated omni-channel platform of approximately 1,400 stores, online presence, and dedicated sales professionals and technicians to small, medium and enterprise businesses. Through its banner brands Office Depot®, OfficeMax®, CompuCom® and Grand&Toy®, the company offers its customers the tools and resources they need to focus on their passion of starting, growing and running their business. For more information, visit news.officedepot.com and follow @officedepot on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Office Depot is a trademark of The Office Club, Inc. OfficeMax is a trademark of OMX, Inc. CompuCom is a trademark of CompuCom Systems, Inc. Grand&Toy is a trademark of Grand & Toy, LLC in Canada. ©2018 Office Depot, Inc. All rights reserved. Any other product or company names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.
1 Subject to coupon terms and conditions. Excludes purchase of all sale priced items; gift/prepaid cards; technology and consumer electronic products and accessories or media and software products; and HP, Epson or Samsung products. Other exclusions apply. See coupon for details. Expires 12/29/2018 11:59 PM ET.
